Greetings Athenians! Between Spring Break and SXSW, I'm sure Athens is feeling like a ghost town. Austin, on the other hand, feels more like Mardi Gras as 20,000 music fans have descended on the city.

I just had a quick pow-wow with Gordon Lamb and David Fitzgerald at the Hilton Garden Inn, in our room overlooking "THE FADER FORT PRESENTED BY CONVERSE" (they got on our case last year for not listing the full, sponsored name of the event.

I've been in town for just about four hours, and I've already seen three bands, ate some tacos and have sweat stains the size of Houston under my pits. It's humid, folks.

I came in to drop off my swag bag which is remarkably swag-free this year. Nary one pair of ear plugs nor a key chain inside-- just the program and an *Austin Chronicle*. It seems SXSW has opted instead to push goodies via their website instead of packing backs with postcards and keychains (which inevitably ended up on the street anyway as weary music tired of carrying the load).

The Under the Radar party was a great way to start the week, with Stevie Nicks/electro-inspired Swedish rockers Niki & the Dove followed by the always adventurous Hooray for Earth. I walked right in the club, but when I left, the line was already around the block—I was quickly reminded that bouncing from one show to another is not always as easy and you think. With that in mind, I've got to get a move on. Hoping to see Bear In Heaven and make my way across the highway to The Fort for Santigold before dinner (I actually wrote "dinner" into my schedule this year, as I forgot to make time for eating and sleeping last year which was draining to say the least). Show recaps and (maybe) photos to come.

Anyway, off I go!

You can keep up with my more frequent posts over on Twitter [@FlagpoleMusic][1].

[1]: https://twitter.com/#!/flagpolemusic